Toybank - Development through Play

How has play helped you learn? Tell us in the comments below!

Our volunteers help us spread the message of Power of Play, while having a playful time themselves! And here’s an example of it. Intrigued by play itself and adapting his philosophy of Fitness for Fun, Ariaan Bajaj, a Grade 11 student from Bombay International School started bi-monthly fitness sessions with our children since October. Coming in to teach our children simple yet effective fitness techniques with a focus on strength and mobility these sessions have won many smiles. Play with fitness empowers children to make positive life choices and develop discipline too.

Before we wrap up for 2023, our team decided to come together and plan for the next year well in advance. There was a lot of brainstorming, co-working and team planning involved. Stay tuned to know more!

In many conversations, teachers have told us that introducing play sessions in schools have led to children building skills like confidence, improving decision-making abilities and more, especially while working in a group. Teachers are an integral part of our journey in ensuring that Play reaches more children. Our Play Practitioner Programme focuses on capacity building of teachers to transform them into skilled Play Facilitators who understand the value of play and use it to address children’s developmental needs.

Our volunteers help us spread the message of Power of Play, while having a playful time themselves. They support us in play sessions and help us make them accessible to more children. Through the years, their support has allowed us take play to more children.

On , we asked a few of them about their experience so far and how being part of the cause has changed their perception of Play. Read here: https://shorturl.at/cfx38

Toybank - Development through Play has always focused on building childrens’ life skills through the . So when UWM approached us to generously offer their time to do a short session on Financial Literacy for our 8th graders, we happily agreed!

60 students of Grade 8 of the Gilderlane Municipal School, Mumbai Central, thoroughly enjoyed this session where they learned simple and insightful concepts of finance, daily accounts, terms such as safe deposits, zero percent limit and more. Our playful work became real concepts for children and the correlations they were able to make were truly exciting!

When partners come forward to support our programmes like this, it fully complements our efforts and makes the impact that much more real. We thank United Way Mumbai for supporting us through these sessions.

In a workshop on child rights facilitated for our team, we discussed its importance and the need to increase awareness and understanding of child rights. Through various activities, the facilitators spoke about why we do what we do for children, categories of child rights, their right to development and more.

At Toybank, a child's Right to Play is an integral part of the work we do and hence, the workshop also addressed why play as a right is essential for every child. Play helps children build skills, enabling them to grow into empathetic, thoughtful and successful adults. Taking this forward, we continue to work towards making the Right to Play a reality in this lifetime.

IN THE NEWS: The last week at Toybank was spent conducting Power of Play workshops for teachers from different schools in Maharashtra. A four-day workshop held in Beed district for Zilla Parishad school teachers and other centres was captured in a local newspaper. A total of 221 teachers from 71 schools attended these workshops. Read on to know more.

A few glimpses from the two-day training conducted for teachers in Beed.

As part of our play programmes, the trainings aimed at helping teachers experience play themselves, in order to best use it in their everyday classrooms. Read more about this here: https://toybank.org/our_impact/

Here's a glimpse of what went down at our Power of Play workshops in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district last week. We asked our Play Centre Facilitators to use things available around them and build things that can be used for Play. Look at how creative they got! The activity enabled them to understand that Play is everywhere.

A total of 30 Play Facilitators from seven schools and 22 centres attended the workshop, which enables us to help them understand the benefits of play-based learning and re-orient them about the Play2Learn programme. It trains Play Facilitators on the new games being introduced and helps them understand how to effectively use them in classrooms as part of their daily teaching. This also strengthens the student-teacher bond.

Access to quality play begins with safe spaces and quality games, which we provide to children at Toybank’s Play2Learn centres. On Thursday, the team sent 3,054 games to 119 Play2Learn centres in Maharashtra’s Latur district.

As we gear up for trainings next week, we look forward to all the fun and excitement the Play Facilitators and children will experience! Watch this space for more.

Play allows children to discover their innate talents, build strong social skills, teamwork and develop self-awareness, which are crucial in everyday life. Research shows that a childhood deprived of Play has the potential to lead to a tough adulthood.

Join Toybank in creating a world where Play reaches every child. Click here to support us: https://shorturl.at/GHWZ5

When teachers themselves tell us that our Play2Learn sessions transform the way children are learning, we are motivated to drive Play with even more rigour to every classroom. Your support will help provide children access to quality play and create safe spaces for them to learn and grow. It’s an investment in their future!

Click here: https://shorturl.at/GHWZ5

Play isn't just about fun, it's about building curiosity and a love for learning. Our Conscious Play™ approach and carefully curated play materials create a safe and joyful space for children to thrive. Play empowers children to make better life choices and become well-regulated and rational adults.

Come, join us in creating a World of Play for every child. Click here to support: https://shorturl.at/fpxDL

“Play helps children exhibit leadership skills, while having fun,” says Mahadevi Koshti, a teacher from a Play centre in Latur, Maharashtra. “Playing in groups helps them develop decision-making abilities, and broadens their thinking.

Toybank’s Play sessions are not just fun, but a space for children to learn and grow through strategic games. Teachers have often noted that play-based learning helps children improve their logical thinking and interpersonal skills, among others. To know more about how play transforms childhoods, click here: https://toybank.org/stories/

Here's what a child had to say about how one of their favourite games helped them build the essential skills. Through carefully curated play material and play sessions, our programmes enable a happier and safe space for children to learn.

To know more, click here: https://toybank.org/our_work/

Thank you for supporting us in providing access to quality play for children. We look forward to all the work we'll be doing together! :)

"These workshops help us build on each others' ideas to manage classrooms better and facilitate quality play for children," says Nitin Kamble, 26, a Play Worker at Toybank - Development through Play. On Wednesday, we conducted a workshop with 14 Play Workers, where we spoke about the characteristics of Play, its indicators and more.

Nitin adds that the workshops also help them understand play and its importance better. Our immersive workshops for Play Workers include group discussions, play session demos, field visits and of course, lots of engaging activities and new games to learn.

At Toybank, we are committed to providing access to quality play for children we work with. Come, volunteer with us and be a part of our team. Register here: https://shorturl.at/oxCE9

What skills has play helped you build? Tell us in the comments below.

Playing in a team may seem like you're just having fun, but there's much more to it. Play is one of the mediums that helps you build skills such as teamwork. When children are playing in a team, they build on each other’s ideas. Skills such as problem-solving are more effective when done in a team. Moreover, teamwork also allows children to play to their individual strengths. What other skills do you think play helps us build? Tell us in the comments.

To know more about play and its benefits, read our article here: https://shorturl.at/oxyCP

POWER OF PLAY: A student built a house of straws during a play session. When asked how he would enter the house without it falling apart, take a look at what he did!

Play helps build skills of creativity and imagination, and increases a child's interest in learning. At Toybank, we are committed to creating safe and inclusive spaces where children can experience the transformative power of play. Through our play programmes, we strive to ensure that every child has the opportunity to explore, discover, and develop their full potential. Read more about our work through these stories: https://toybank.org/stories/

At Toybank Turns 19, we had wonderful volunteers who organised an origami workshop for students at a Malad school. They learned how to make butterflies, boxes, bookmarks and more!

One of our volunteers, Sailee Nigalye, wrote about her experience and said, "I noticed that students were helping each other during the workshop and resolving each other’s doubts. This showed excellent teamwork between them." Click here to read more: https://shorturl.at/dD068

We celebrated with the launch of our Play2Learn Programme in Pune's Chakkan District. It's a new geography expansion of our work and we couldn't be happier about this!

Today's day was spent orienting the new teachers from Bhamchandra Secondary High school in Chakkan, about the and how together we can build a World of Play for our children, teachers and society at large.

These are some exciting times for our foundation, as we continue to mainstream learning in districts across Maharashtra. Stay tuned for more!

In the last part of our series 'Playful Parenting', we spoke to Shalvi Mangaokar about how Play helps her connect with her two-year-old daughter, Snitika. Shalvi uses a lot of sensory play, as it encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem-solving and creativity.

Read more about it here: https://toybank.org/playful-parenting-how-power-of-play-enables-parents-to-better-connect-with-children/

Building a world of play: On August 26, over 100 volunteers came together to distribute games to 1,674 children and conduct fun activities at a school in Malad. The day marked 19 years of Toybank - Development through Play, and was filled with learning, games, but most of all, PLAY!

Thank you to all our supporters for being part of this journey. Let's together ensure that we make the Right to Play a reality and eventually mainstream play-based learning for every child in India.

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